The SLEP program, which now goes back nearly 10 years, was intended to ensure the Carrier Air Wing remained sufficiently lethal during a gap in time when fleet size was decreased by the retirement of the F-14 Tomcat and delayed arrival of the F-35Cs. This has been and continues to be critical for the Navy as the service fast-tracks the arrival of its 6th-generation F/A-XX Next Generation Air Dominance platform.į/A-18 Life Goes from 6,000 flight hours to 10,000 flight hours Simply put, this has added many years to the relevance, performance, and continued operational functionality of the F/A-18. The impact of this SLEP has been quite substantial, as it has extended the F/A-18’s flight hours from 6,000 all the way up to 10,000 over the course of many years. Specifically, Navy and industry engineers modified the center barrel section to reinforce the airframe. In recent years, the aircraft was the focus of an extensive Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) designed to upgrade and reinforce the airframes, onboard electronics, and engine performance. While the original McDonnell Douglas-Northrop airframe dates all the way back to the mid-1970s, today’s F/lA-18 is virtually an entirely new aircraft due to the scope of its technological enhancements. The Navy’s F/A-18 has already more than outlived its anticipated service through extension programs, upgrades, and massive amounts of modernization to ensure the 1980s-launched jet remains relevant, lethal, and cutting-edge in a modern threat environment. Navy’s classic F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet. ![]() Next-generation infrared target tracking, conformal fuel tanks, a fully redesigned digital cockpit, and new “glide slope” carrier-landing software are just a few of the many life-extending enhancements woven into the U.S.
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